Committee Investigating Jan. 6 Capitol Attack Recommends Criminal Charges for Steve Bannon in Unanimous Vote

Photo: OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

A House committee investigating theJan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitolvoted unanimously Tuesday to recommend criminalcharges for Steve Bannonfor his refusal to comply with their subpoena.

After allnine committee membersvoted in favor of criminal contempt of Congress charges for Bannon, a full House vote is scheduled for Thursday. If certified, the recommendation for charges will be sent to the Justice Department.

Steve Bannon.

“The Department of Justice, as with all criminal referrals, will evaluate the matter based on the facts and the law, consistent with the principles of federal prosecution,” Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia,toldThe New York Timeson Tuesday.

“The rule of law remains under attack right now. If there’s no accountability for these abuses — if there are different sets of rules for different types of people — then our democracy is in serious trouble,” Thompson said Tuesday. “I won’t allow further harm through the rule of law in the course of our work. Mr. Bannon will comply with our investigation or he will face the consequences.”

Rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Samuel Corum/Getty

After Trump indicated he would assert executive privilege and urged witnesses not to comply in the investigation, PresidentJoe Bidendetermined that his assertion isnot in the best interest of the countryand instructed the National Archives to turn over documents related to the investigation.

On Tuesday,Trump sued the committeeand the National Archives, demanding that requests for information be invalidated or that “at a minimum” Trump be allowed to “conduct a full privilege review of all request materials.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, a Republican who voted to impeach the President Trump following the Jan. 6 attack, said that the claims of privilege appear to reveal “that President Trump was personally involved in the planning and execution of January 6th.”

“And we will get to the bottom of that,” she added.

From left: Reps. Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney.Alex Wong/Getty Images

Cheney also urged fellow Republicans to “please consider the fundamental questions of right and wrong.”

“Almost every one of my colleagues knows in your hearts that what happened on January 6th was profoundly wrong,” she also said. “You all know that there is no evidence of widespread election fraud sufficient to overturn the election.”

It’s been almost 40 years since anyone was indicted for criminal contempt of Congress.

“The process we’ve begun tonight is a grave one. It seldom happens, and we’d rather avoid it altogether,” Thompson said Tuesday. “But it is not reserved just for Steve Bannon. If other witnesses defy this Committee — if they fail to cooperate — we will be back in this room, with a new report, with the names of whoever else mistakenly believes that they are above the law.”

source: people.com